Shared Lives Officer

About the role

We are looking for an additional person to join the Shared Lives Team as a full-time Officer. This is a rewarding position with a focus on achieving good outcomes for our Service Users through providing support and oversight to Shared Lives Carers.

Shared Lives Officers are responsible for maintaining a caseload of Shared Lives Carers and overseeing the support provided to Shared Lives Service Users.

They work closely with the scheme's Manager, Senior Officer, Shared Lives Carers, and other professionals to ensure Service Users receive safe, consistent, high-quality care and support that meets their eligible needs and outcomes, as well as CQC standards.

The successful candidate will be supported with a comprehensive induction and ongoing support.

What is Shared Lives?

Shared Lives is a community-based model of care used nationwide that matches self-employed Shared Lives Carers with people aged 16 and over who have care and support needs. The support is provided in the Carer's home, enabling service users to live gloriously ordinary lives, centred in their communities. This can be as a long-term placement, a short break to provide respite, or as a day opportunity.

In the Dorset Council area, Shared Lives Placements are overseen by The Dorset Shared Lives Team. We recruit and support the Shared Lives Carers to share their home and life with Service Users, who are referred to us by Social Work teams. The scheme is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), and all staff and Shared Lives Carers work within CQC standards.

Key responsibilities

• Recruiting, assessing, and approving new Shared Lives Carers
• Providing regular monitoring and support to Shared Lives Carers
• Working with Social Work teams to consider Service User referrals
• Matching Service Users and Carers for long-term placements, short breaks, and day opportunities
• Reviewing Service User placements and advocating for Service Users in various contexts
• Collaborating with other professionals to maintain high standards of care within the scheme
• Take an active role in promoting the Shared Lives Service, both internally and externally

Please refer to the "Day in the Life" document, Job Description (shared with Assessment and Support Co-ordinator role) and SLO context statement for further details about this post.

Location and Working Arrangements

The registered location for the scheme is County Hall in Dorchester.

We offer hybrid and flexible working, but the post-holder is expected to attend the office regularly and be available for face-to-face visits in the community to meet Shared Lives Carers and Service Users.

About you

We are looking for someone committed to getting the details right for Carers and Service Users. Someone who will work collaboratively, and with clear purpose, to improve the lives of people with care and support needs in Dorset.

Prior to working in Shared Lives, all of our team members have had a range of different professional and personal experiences. We value, respect and celebrate our differences, recognising how each person's unique insights and perspectives strengthen the team, helping us to understand and support our Carers and Service Users more effectively.

We would love to hear from you if you have a passion for supporting people with care and support needs, and believe you possess a range of personal attributes, knowledge, skills, and values that align this role.

Interview details

Interviews for this position will take place in person at County Hall, Dorchester, on Monday the 23rd March 2026.

We have co-produced our interview questions with a Shared Lives household and the interview panel will include one of our service users.

The interview comprises of 8 questions and will take approximately one hour.

In addition to the interview, a written exercise, that will require around 15 minutes to complete, will be circulated to those shortlisted to be completed and returned prior to the interview.

Further Information

More information about Shared Lives can be found on our website and Shared Lives Plus

If you would like to discuss this position or the team before applying, please email the Shared Lives Team at to arrange a telephone call with a team member.

This post involves working with children and/or vulnerable adults and/or having access to significant information about them. It will be subject to a Disclosure and Barring Service check. See our policy on the employment of ex-offenders. See our adult safeguarding policy.

EEO and Inclusivity

We are committed to building a diverse and inclusive organisation where different skills, perspectives, and backgrounds strengthen both our council and the communities we serve.

We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be a Disability Confident Employer. If you declare a disability and meet the essential criteria for the role, we will offer you an interview. We also want our recruitment process to be accessible, if you need any reasonable adjustments, just let us know on your application.

This role is UK-based, and we will need to confirm your Right to Work as part of the appointment process. We use generic job descriptions and person specifications, so the job title in any attachments may differ from the advert. If needed, we will provide additional details in a context statement.

If you're passionate about making a difference, we'd love you to join us.